


Beer, Beaches and Cake

by tinknevertalks



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Birthday, Found Family, Gen, Helen and her son Henry, Post Series, Vague episode tag, dealing with grief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 17:30:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15369666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinknevertalks/pseuds/tinknevertalks
Summary: Henry and Helen have a moment in her office, remembering Ashley.





	Beer, Beaches and Cake

**Author's Note:**

> Augh, if you follow me on Tumblr, you know I have this thing about how Helen says to Henry that she found him on the moors as a child. He has a (Canadian?) accent, so he was in her Sanctuary. So why the distance? Ugh, not important. This is something that bugged me for a while too - Helen had a lot of time to deal with Ashley's death, but Henry didn't. How did he react to the big birthdays, the big life changing things, that Ashley missed? This is a small part of me exploring that part of Helen and Henry's relationship (and Helen and Ashley's too, as well as Ashley and Henry's...). Unbeta'd, so all my mistakes are mine. (If you find any, hit me up.)

“Hey Doc?” Henry knocked on Magnus’ door, poking his head in carefully. “You got a sec?”

She looked up from her work and he felt like a teenager again, asking for something but not sure how to word it. It didn’t last long, not with that smile, welcoming his interruption. “Of course.”

He sighed as he walked in, rubbing the back of his head. “So…” He collapsed into a chair, ungainly, exhausted.

“So?” she echoed, looking confused.

Her reports suddenly looked way more interesting than the concern radiating from her. “Argh, this is hard to say so I’m just gonna say it…”

“Say what, Henry?”

“I’m sorry I left around Ashley’s birthday, back when she…” He twirled his index fingers backwards before hooking his thumb over his shoulder. _Back when she died._ He watched as she blinked a few times, her head shaking slightly, as he added, “I shouldn’t have gone like that.”

“I let you go, Henry,” she reminded him, but that didn’t help. “I actively sent you on your way.” Bowing her head, the lights in her office gave her a circlet of reflected bronze in her hair, and Henry almost missed her saying, “I should be apologising.”

“Wha– Nah Doc, I–”

“You grew up together,” she continued, and Henry had to give her that. “And I pushed you away.” Her eyes were shining, but Henry assumed a hundred and fifteen odd years must have given her distance because she just smiled her maddening Tibet smile. It was the type of smile one normally saw on an old person vaguely remembering their childhood, but on Magnus it was brighter, clearer, no vagueness - only distance. “I have to admit I was selfish in that regard.”

Henry felt his heart jump to his throat, somewhat knowing what she meant. He’d spent most of Ashley’s birthday brooding in a cove, not in the mood to surf. “She loved surfing,” he murmured, smiling as Magnus nodded.

“Hard to believe she would’ve been thirty this year,” she said quietly.

He nodded, then smiled. “Remember when all she’d eat was baked beans?”

“James said she’d turn into one,” she replied, a dash of laughter in her voice. “Or when she started having an allowance…”

“… And tried to buy bullets,” Henry finished, smiling too. “How did you explain that one again?”

Magnus shook her head, still smiling, “I honestly can’t remember, but it must have been good.”

They were quiet for a while. Henry felt at peace for the first time that day. “I miss her.” Magnus nodded, looking at him again with that smile. It bolstered his resolve. “There aren’t decent waves down here but…” His voice petered out, suddenly feeling a touch silly.

“But?” she asked cautiously, the smile never faltering.

“I’m heading down to the waterfall tomorrow, take some cake and beer. She’d’ve liked that.”

Magnus nodded. “The cake especially.”

“She’d always deny it though…” Henry looked at his hands before looking at Magnus. “I… Would you…? If you want to, you can come with.”

She opened her mouth, maybe to say thank you but no, like she normally did (she usually did something by herself, or with Nikola or Will, on The Day), but her eyes softened and Henry suddenly heard words he hadn’t dared hoped to hear. “I’d love to.”


End file.
